A 3 disc set; you must be thinking to yourself, wow, this has got to have lots of good stuff right? Well, not exactly. Groove Maker is comprised of 3 CDs, one of which contains no Jimi Hendrix content at all!
The other two are made up of very early Hendrix stuff, mainly when he was a sideman. Some okay stuff, but most Hendrix fanatics will have this material already, and a new Hendrix fan probably wouldn't enjoy it.
The first disc in this set, supposedly features Jimi playing guitar for Little Richard. An interesting combination, and Jimi was a member of Richard's band for a while, but this CD contains not one track with Jimi playing on it!
Jimi did record 2 songs with Little Richard that have come out on other releases, but for some reason they are not included. False advertising at it's worst. Pretty good Little Richard tracks, but you didn't pay for Little Richard, you paid for Jimi.
Disc 2, subtitled Classic Sessions, is a little better and features some tracks with Jimi performing with King Curtis and a few tracks, mistitled, from the jam at the Scene Club; the one featuring Jim Morrison, among others.
This is a semi-decent disc to see where Jimi began, and just how far he would evolve from a backup player to musical genius. But the average fan, who basically knows Purple Haze, and Watchtower from his local FM radio station won't care for this disc.
File under `A small piece of the much larger puzzle'
Disc 3 features Jimi back when he was a session player with Lonnie Youngblood. Many, many, many releases have come out claiming Hendrix involvement, but don't actually feature Jimi at all.
This is one of the exceptions, and while the music may not stand up to Jimi's later output, it is at least, Hendrix playing. Though as with disc 2, it merely hints at what was to come from Jimi. Again, a small piece of the puzzle, but not a crucial one.
Quality is okay for the most part, though disc one seems to come from an LP. But as it doesn't feature Jimi at all, who cares right? :) If you're ready to take the step from Hendrix fan, to Hendrix fanatic, these recordings will eventually enter into your collection.
But for everybody else, skipping these tracks won't be the end of the world.
Disc 1
- Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
- Goodnight Irene
- Keep A Knockin'
- Going Home Tomorrow
- Belle Stars
- Long Tall Sally
- Lawdy Miss Clawdy
- Why Don't You Love Me
- Lucille
- Hound Dog
- Money Honey
- Funky Dish Rag
Please note : This CD does not feature any Jimi Hendrix involvement.
Disc 2
- Red House
- Sweet Thing
- Blues Blues
- Groove Maker
- People's Peoples
- She's A Fox
- Woah Eeh
- Gonna Take The Lot
- Lime Lime
Disc 3
- Go Go Shoes
- Go Go Place
- Soul Food (That's What I Like)
- Under The Table 1
- Under The Table 2
- Goodbye Bessie Mae
- Two In One Goes
- Wipe The Sweat 1
- Wipe The Sweat 2
- Wipe The Sweat 3
Catalog #: Dressed To Kill DTKBOX81
